Untitled Sermon (18)

“Faith is the act of the intellect when it assents to divine truth under the influence of the will moved by God through grace” Isaiah 7:9B If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’ ” (Is 7:9).

Faith must be Activated

James said 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? (Jas 2:14). ...

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jas 2:16–17).

Just as yeast needs to be activated before its good for making bread faith must activated if its good in life.

Activated faith comes by first believing God. We know its impossible to please God with out faith. Also its not activated until its accompanied by works. James uses the most simplest example of inactivated faith. sending the poor away with words instead of relief. We often profess to have faith but we never operate in it. If faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen , then we must do things in faith that seem contrary to what our natural mind would tell us. Like extended ourselves by giving to the poor or assisting someone when its not convenient. We have heard that we need to walk the walk instead of talk the talk!

Faith must Be Demonstrated

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (Jas 2:18).

Faith will me Congratulated

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. (Jas 2:21–23).

Our faith when it is demonstrated or as James said tied to works

We all know the story of Abraham recieved a promise from God. He would be the father of many nations. He had to believe God even when his natural body was dead. He and Sarah had Isaac. Then the craziest thing in the world happened. God asked him to take his son to a mountain to be sacrifice. Abraham demonstrated faith right up to the point of lifting his knife to kill Isaac. Yet the angel interceded. Abraham do you son no harm and God provided a ram stuck in the thicket. Now that is a great demonstration of faith. That level of faith is not often requested or demonstrated in life. That’s why James showed the reader an example they may be able to relate to. After saying Abraham was justified by works and not faith alone. He gives the example of Rehab. The prostitute who was justified by works when she recieved the messengers. Joshua 2 gives us detail how Rehab hid the spies. She risked her lifemher families to hide spies who were searching the land that God had promised the Children of Israel. Now get this Rehab was not an Israelite. She was what we would call a gentle. Rahab’s name comes from a root meaning “to be wide or broad. That’s a good description. Our faith needs to wide and broad. We need faith to cover a broad spectrum of situations. Not every situation will be the same and our faith has the broad enough. What ever comes our way do we have the Faith that can conquer anything?

Yes her faith is congratulated. When you look at the lineage of Jesus Matthew 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab. Rahab is David’s great grandmother. She is described as a harlot a prostitute and she gets rewarded to be King David’s Great grandmother.